Thursday, July 27, 2017

After picture of a calf born on July 28 in Texas that has a striking resemblance to the black-and-white face markings of Gene Simmons was posted on Twitter, the Kiss frontman tweeted back his admiration. Heather Taccetta, who lives at a ranch in Kerrville, Tex., near San Antonio with her family, said the calf belongs to her grandmother, and she decided to name it Genie, in honor of Simmons. Taccetta says the calf and its mother are doing fine and that Genie is a family favorite and won't be sold for slaughter. After seeing the pic of the calf, Simmons tweeted back on July 31, saying, "This is real, folks! Calf called Genie is born on Texas ranch and looks EXACTLY like Kiss rocker Gene Simmons." - AP, 8/1/17...... David Crosby has shared a new song called "Sell Me a Diamond" from his upcoming album Sky Trails. In a throatier, conversational cadence reminiscent of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen instead of his normal CSN tenor, Crosby sings about trying to negotiate the perfect, "conflict-free" diamond sale, and then gifting it to worthy, pure "souls." Sky Trails is out Sept. 29 via BMG. - Spin.com, 8/1/17...... Prog-rock legends Yes will kick off its Yestival tour during the first week of August with openers Todd Rundgren and Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy. After doing a few years of full-album shows, Yes guitarist Steve Howe says this time out Yes will be mining the group's first nine albums -- 1969's Yes through 1978's Tormato, with at least one song from each. "We're stopping on the first album, but also we're doing two songs from one of the albums, and one of them's going to be a surprise sort of acoustic song that just Jon [Anderson] and I will perform," Howe says. "We're bringing the focus to the songs rather than the albums, and I think we've got a good balance here with things that we're bringing forth that have never been played," he added. Howe says he's also excited about having his son, Dylan -- who's worked with him on many of his solo albums -- be part of Yes this summer. "Part of his education over the last 10 years has been to learn every Yes piece, and he knows virtually every one... because to him it was as good as learning Count Basie or Art Blakey -- partly because he's grown up with it, it's in his blood," Howe says. Howe added that Yes is starting to consider making some new music, which would be the followup to its last LP, 2014's Heaven & Earth. Before then, he will release Anthology 2: Groups and Collaborations on Aug. 11, focusing on his work in bands such as Yes and Asia and with other musicians. He's also started work on a two-part memoir, which he hopes will be published in 2018. - Billboard, 7/31/17...... Lionel Richie performed at the Hollywood Bowl on July 31 as his 22-date co-headlining tour with Mariah Carey hit Los Angeles. Celebrating the 40th anniverasary of the Commodores staple "Easy," Richie kicked off his set at the piano singing the song. The two-hour set, which also featured such solo hits as "You Are," "My Love," "Dancing On The Ceiling" and "Stuck on You" as well as Commodores catalog smashes "Three Times A Lady" and "Brick House," was closed with the night's most anticipated classic, "All Night Long (All Night)." - Billboard, 8/1/17...... AC/DC singer Brian Johnson was involved in a car crash on July 29 in a qualifying heat for the UK's Silverstone Classic celebrity car race. Johnson walked away from the crash unscathed after his vintage Austin A35 flipped over on the track. Johnson, a renowned car buff, was reportedly attended to by medical personnel at the scene, and was taken out of the running for the Celebrity Challenge Trophy, whose prize benefits the Prostate Cancer UK chairty. - Billboard, 8/1/17...... Stevie Wonder will be the headliner at the upcoming Global Citizen Festival 2017 set for the Great Lawn in New York's Central Park on Sept. 23. The annual charity concert will also include performances by Green Day, The Killers, The Lumineers, The Chainsmokers, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean, among others. Global Citizen is a social action platform dedicated to ending extreme poverty and other world issues. Fans can earn tickets to the event by taking part in the Global Citizen movement and completing advocacy tasks at GlobalCitizenFestival.com. Ticket draws will occur throughout the summer leading up to the event. - Billboard, 8/1/17...... Bruce Springsteen has signed a worldwide administration deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, bringing his catalog under a single global roof for the first time in his career. Previously, Springsteen's catalog was split between Downtown Music Publishing in the United States and Sony/ATV in the United Kingdom, among others. The new deal covers all of the Boss' future work as well as his back catalog, including albums like Born To Run, Born In the U.S.A. and The River, as well as the songs he's written that were famously covered by others such as Rage Against the Machine ("The Ghost of Tom Joad"), Mary J. Blige ("American Skin (41 Shots)") and David Bowie ("It's Hard To Be a Saint In the City"), among others. "During a career spanning more than 40 years, Bruce Springsteen has amassed one of the most iconic catalogs of songs in the history of music," said UMPG chairman/CEO Jody Gerson in a statement announcing the news. "We are thrilled to put the entire global resources of our company into expanding the popularity of his music and creating exciting new fan experiences," he added. Springsteen's catalog, recorded over a 40-plus-year period for Columbia Records beginning with his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., still sells well, and it helped land the rock icon at No. 3 on Billboard's annual Money Makers list for 2017. - Billboard, 7/31/17...... In other Springsteen-related news, the New Jersey-based minor league baseball team Lakewood BlueClaws paid homage to the rocker who grew up in Freehold, about 30 minutes from their stadium, on July 29 with "Bruce Springsteen Appreciation Night." Festivities included a pre-game concert by the E-Street Shuffle, a Springsteen tribute band, and the first "Born to Run Beer Mile" race, in which participating fans got a beer for each lap they completed around the field's warning track. The first runner to finish three laps and three beers was declared the winner. The BlueClaws played the game in jerseys bearing the "BruceClaws" name and planned to auction off the game-worn shirts after the game, with all the money raised going to its charities fund. "I've only met a handful of people who don't like him, and that's usually because they don't like his strong political views," said one attendee. "But I always tell them you can appreciate his musical talent without agreeing with his opinions." - AP, 7/30/17...... The Liverpool Echo newspaper is reporting that during a visit to to students at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in late July, Paul McCartney told the students, "Sometimes the situation in the world is so crazy, that you've got to address it," and that the former Beatle has written a song pertaining to US Pres. Donald Trump. A rep for McCartney had no comment. Sir Paul is also a co-founder of the institute, also called LIPA, and was a student there when it was known as Liverpool Institute High School For Boys. The high school closed in 1985 and reopened as LIPA after an extensive renovation. McCartney is the school's Lead Patron. Earlier in July, McCartney told Australian newspaper reporter Cameron Adams that he's "not a fan at all" of the current American president. "He's unleashed a kind of violent prejudice that is sometimes latent among people," Macca said. "He's unleashed the ugly side of America. People feel like they have got a free pass to be, if not violent, at least antagonistic towards people of a different color or a different race. I think we all thought we'd got past that a long time ago." During the 2016 campaign, McCartney openly expressed his support for Democratic contender Hillary Clinton and the two posed for a picture together before a Paul concert in Cleveland. - Billboard, 7/30/17...... The Eagles headlined Day 1 of the The Classic East Festival on July 29 in New York City, after appearing at the concert's West Coast incarnation two week earlier. The concert kicked off with the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan and then the Eagles -- the latter making their second appearance with Deacon Frey, who replaced his father, late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey. The Eagles provided a couple of well-selected deep cuts -- the sweeping Hotel California closer "The Last Resort" and funky The Long Run talkbox exercise "Those Shoes" -- but their set mainly consisted of some of their biggest hits, including "Take It Easy" to "One of These Nights." Unlike at Classic West, when Don Henley & Co. seemed to hint that the two Classic concerts could represent the Eagles' last flight, there were fewer moments of finality at Classic East -- mostly just gratitude to the fans. On Day 2 of the Classic East Festival on July 30, Fleetwood Mac climaxed the event by playing 8 of the 11 songs off their classic 1977 album Rumours that came to define their strengths as a band (and their personal weaknesses as bandmates). Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham also played a solo version of his 1987 top 5 hit "Big Love," that included his own lightning-speed acoustic finger-picking. Also performing that night were Earth, Wind & Fire and Journey. - Billboard, 7/31/17...... Sam Shepard, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Oscar-nominated actor and celebrated author whose plays chronicled the explosive fault lines of family and masculinity in the American West, died on July 27 at his home in Kentucky from complications related to Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was 73. The taciturn Shepard, who grew up on a California ranch, was a man of few words who nevertheless produced 44 plays and numerous books, memoirs and short stories. He was one of the most influential playwrights of his generation: a plain-spoken poet of the modern frontier, both lyrical and rugged.S hepard's movie career began in the late '70s. While making the 1982 Frances Farmer biopic Frances, he met Jessica Lange and the two remained together for nearly 30 years. They had two children, Hannah Jane and Samuel Walker. They separated in 2009. Lange once said of Shepard: "No man I've ever met compares to Sam in terms of maleness." Shepard worked occasionally in movies, but took acting gigs more frequently as he grew older. Besides his plays, Shepard wrote short stories and a full-length work of fiction, The One Inside, which came out earlier in 2017. Shepard also joined Bob Dylan on the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975, and co-wrote the song "Brownsville Girl" with him. Shepard and Patti Smith were one-time lovers but lifetime friends. "We're just the same," Smith once said. "When Sam and I are together, it's like no particular time." Smith published a beautifully poetic remembrance of her late friend titled "My Buddy" in The New Yorker on Aug. 1. - AP, 8/1/17...... Nasally comedienne Patti Deutsch, known for her appearances on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and game shows like Match Game and Tattletales, died on July 26 after a long battle with cancer. She was 73. Deutsch came to fame as a member of the 1960s-'70s improvisational comedy group Ace Trucking Company, which also featured Fred Willard, Bill "You Can Call Me Ray" Saluga, Michael Mislove and George Memmoli. She and the troupe appeared dozens of times on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, on other talk shows, and on ABC's This Is Tom Jones, and they recorded an album of improvised sketches for RCA. The Pittsburgh-born Deutsch joined NBC's Laugh-In for its sixth and final season (1972-73) and had a regular role on the short-lived NBC comedy Grandpa Goes to Washington, starring Jack Albertson. Her other credits include Mr. Mom (1983) and the TV shows She's the Sheriff and Don't Trust the B-- in Apartment 23, and she was also a prolific voiceover artist and appeared in dozens of TV commercials, including Charmin and Folgers. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/28/17...... Famed French actress Jeanne Moreau reportedly died in her home on July 31 at the age of 89. Moreau was considered one of the greatest actresses of her time, and is perhaps best known for her role in Francois Truffaut's new wave film Jules et Jim. Ms. Moreau's personal life included a brief marriage to The Exorcist director William Friedkin, and a relationship with designer Pierre Cardin, who she called her "true love." Ms. Moreau eventually starred in over 100 films, and also recorded albums, as she had a beautiful singing voice. - Jezebel.com, 7/31/17...... Martin "Marty" Sklar, a pioneering Walt Disney Co. imagineer who played an instrumental role in the design of Disney theme parks, died on July 27 at the age of 83. During his 54 years at Disney, Mr. Sklar led the creative development of the Burbank company's parks, attractions and resorts around the world, including its ventures in TV, the cruise business, housing development and the redesign of Times Square in New York. - The Los Angeles Times, 7/28/17.

Veteran music producer/mogul Quincy Jones was awarded $9.4 million in his royalty trial against the estate of Michael Jackson by a Los Angeles jury on July 26. Jones, dressed in a gray suit and wearing a lavender dress shirt, looked at a verdict form and paid close attention during the verdict reading, said later in a statement that "this lawsuit was never about Michael, it was about protecting the integrity of the work we all did in the recording studio and the legacy of what we created... Although this judgement is not the full amount that I was seeking, I am very grateful that the jury decided in our favor in this matter. I view it not only as a victory for myself personally, but for artists' rights overall." Jones had claimed he was cheated out of royalties after the King of Pop died in 2009, and had originally asked for $30 million in damages. Prior to the verdict, the Jackson estate had already conceded Jones was owed royalties of less than $400,000 due to accounting errors, but argued that the producer was not entitled to $30 million. Since Jackson's death, Jones has received about $18 million in royalties, according to court testimony given during the trial. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/26/17...... An original Andy Warhol artwork owned by Alice Cooper has been rediscovered after it was rolled up in a tube and placed in a storage locker for over 40 years. The piece is a red silkscreen from Warhol's "Little Electric Chair" series, and it was rediscovered after being placed into storage alongside artefacts from Cooper's 1970 stage show -- including a mock electric chair. Cooper's former girlfriend, Cindy Lang, orginally purchased the artwork for Cooper as a gift, but it soon entered the singer's touring collection and he, by his own admission, forgot about it in a "swirl of drugs and drinking." But it was Cooper's manager, Shep Gordon, who eventually rediscovered the painting after he had dinner with an art dealer who told him of the huge sums that Warhol works regularly attract at auction. "Alice's mother remembered it going into storage. So we went and found it rolled up in a tube," said Gordon, who took the painting to Richard Polsky, a Warhol expert who is assured of its authenticity and dated the artwork back to 1964 or 1965. Cooper says he is planning to hang the painting in his home when he finishes touring at the end of the year. "You should have seen Alice's face when Richard Polsky's estimate came in. His jaw dropped and he looked at me", Gordon added. "'Are you serious? I own that!'" Although another Little Electric Chair work by the artist sold in 2015 for $11.6 million, Alice's is unlikely to sell for that sum because it is unsigned and experts at the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts stopped authenticating works in 2011. Cooper says he has not decided whether he plans to eventually sell the painting. - New Musical Express, 7/25/17...... On July 26 a New York federal judge ruled that the Beatles are the legitimate owners of footage of their famous August 1965 concert at New York's Shea Stadium, rejecting the contention that the company of the late promoter of the concert, Sid Bernstein, was the owner. A movie of the Aug. 15, 1965 concert was broadcast on ABC in 1967, then footage from the concert was used in the mid-1990s documentary series called The Beatles Anthology. Most recently, Ron Howard used footage for his own film, Eight Days a Week -- The Touring Years. Around the time that Apple Corps -- the company established by Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- announced the release of Howard's film, those controlling Bernstein's company after the promoter's death in 2013 submitted an application to register ownership of the copyrights in the "master tapes" of the 1965 concert. However, the registration conflicted with a 1988 one from Subafilms, an entity associated with Brian Epstein and the Beatles. Rejection by the U.S. Copyright Office didn't stop the Sid Bernstein company from then suing Apple Corps and Subafilms in 2016 upon the theatrical debut of Eight Days a Week. The plaintiff asserted ownership and claimed that the ABC movie, The Beatles Anthology, and Howard's film were infringing derivative works. On the motion to dismiss, the defendants pointed to the acknowledgment that once the concert began, Bernstein just "observed" and had no control or input into the filming of the concert. "By zeroing in on Bernstein's contributions to the filming of the concert rather than his efforts as a producer and promoter of the event, it is obvious that he is not an 'author' of any fixed works," the judge ruled. Sid Bernstein died in 2013 at the age of 95. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/27/17...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr has teamed with Paul McCartney and members of the Eagles and Toto for a track on his upcoming album, Give Me Love, that drops on Sept. 15. "We're on the Road Again," which features bass guitar and backing vocals from McCartney, also features keyboardist Edgar Winter, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, and Eagles vocalist-guitarist Joe Walsh. - Billboard, 7/27/17...... A hologram image of legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio will be going on a world tour with live musicians from the Dio tribute band Dio Disciples. The European leg of the Dio Returns Tour is set to kick off in Helsinki on Nov. 30, and it'll arrive in the U.S. by the spring of 2018. The tour is also expected to make an appearance at select festivals in 2018. Dio's widow, Wendy Dio, and his estate worked on the project with the hologram company Eyellusion. The tour will use audio from some of Dio's live performances, and the hologram will supposedly take you back to the singer's Sacred Heart and Dream Evil tours. "In 1986, for the Sacred Heart Tour, Ronnie and I created the Crystal Ball with Ronnie filmed and speaking in a suspended crystal ball effect, done with back projection, which was the closest we could get to a hologram," Wendy told Rolling Stone magazine. "[The tour] gives the fans that saw Ronnie perform an opportunity to see him again and new fans that never got to see him a chance to see him for the first time. We hope everyone will enjoy the show that we have all worked so hard to put together," she added. - Stereogum.com, 7/26/17...... Rock poetess Patti Smith joined U2 as the Irish rockers stopped in Paris on their Joshua Tree Tour for an motional performance of the album's closing track, "Mothers of the Disappeared." U2's Joshua Tree Tour will return to North America in September. - Billboard, 7/26/17...... Rounder Records announced on July 26 that Gregg Allman's final studio album, Southern Blood, will be released on Sept. 8. The posthumous LP will be the first new recording from Allman, who died on May 27 of complications from liver cancer at age 69, since 2011's Low Country Blues, and feature songs composed by the likes of Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Jerry Garcia and Willie Dixon, among others. Before his death, Allman spent his last years working on the project, collaborating on it with his friend and manager Michael Lehman, and producer Don Was. In making the announcement, Rounder Records shared a new track composed by Allman, "My Only True Friend," which Was says was "Gregg's attempt to contextualize the course of his life." "He's addressing a woman and explaining that, although he loves her and doesn't want to face living his life alone, being away on the road and performing every night is his lifeblood. If you understand this about Gregg Allman, every other aspect of his life makes complete sense," Was added. - Billboard, 7/26/17...... A new music video for the title track of AdiósGlen Campbell's final album, has been released and features the country/pop crossover star's guitar traveling across the US in the hands of loved ones and fans. His daughter Ashley is the first one to see it off, and his grandson Jeremy is the last one to hold it before a Viking funeral for the instrument in California. Adiós was recorded in 2012, a year after it was announced the ailing star had Alzheimer's disease, and debuted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 200 LP chart earlier in 2017. - Billboard, 7/25/17...... The classic lineup of the '70s pop/rock band The Flamin' Groovies has reunited for a new album called Fantastic Planet. The album is the first album with the two founding members of the band, Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson in 38 years. It comes after Wilson made a guest appearance with the group during 2013 in London, which led to him rejoining the band shortly thereafter. "We showed up at the gig and came in backstage and there was Chris; As soon as we saw each other it was hugs and kisses and we were back together," Jordan told Billboard. "We hadn't decided to put the band back together, but the word got out that we were friends again and all of a sudden the offers started coming in. It was a nice kick start, and we've been going ever since." Fantastic Plastic comes out Sept. 22, and Jordan considers the first single, "What The Hell's Going On," to be a slice of what most would consider classic Groovies sound. Jordan added that he painted the cover illustration for Fantastic Plastic as a homage to late Mad magazine artist Jack Davis. The Flamin' Groovies will kick off a tour behind the new album on Aug. 22 in Worcester, Mass., with two U.S. legs and a European tour. - Billboard, 7/25/17...... Rolling Stones guitarist has posted on his YouTube channel "Ask Keith Richards" that the band will be heading into the studio "very shortly" to record their first album of original material in 12 years. When asked, "Are you inspired to get back in the studio with the Stones and do some more recording?," Richards replied, "Yes, yes, we are -- very, very shortly." The Stones' last studio effort, A Bigger Bang, came out in 2005, then in 2016 they released a blues covers album, Blue & Lonesome. Meanwhile, frontman Mick Jagger has released two new surprise tracks he says are inspired by the current "changing political situation" in the UK. Jagger says he wrote "Gotta Get a Grip" and "England Lost" in April, and he wanted to record and releae them right away. Jagger says the two tracks were the result of "anxiety, unknowability of the changing political situation" in his native England. He said "England Lost," which features Skepta in an accompanying remix, is "ostensibly" about seeing England lose in the football, but the title gave it a wider importance. "It's about a feeling that we are in a difficult moment in our history," he explained. "Gotta Get A Grip" has, according to Jagger, the message of "despite all those things that are happening, you gotta get on with your own life, be yourself and attempt to create your own destiny." - New Musical Express, 7/27/17...... Legendary composer and conductor Lalo Schifrin, best known for writing the Mission: Impossible theme, will be honored on his 85th birthday with a concert Oct. 7 at the Alex Theater in Glendale, Calif. In addition to Mission: Impossible, the six-time Academy Award nominee has scored more than 100 films, including Bullitt, Cool Hand Luke, Dirty Harry, The Cincinnati Kid and The Competition. The five-time Grammy winner is expected to attend the tribute concert, which will feature conductor Chris Walden leading an all-star big band through Schifrin's best-known works. - Billboard, 7/27/17...... Kenny Shields, the lead singer of legendary Canadian rockers Streetheart, died on July 21 of heart failure in Winnipeg. He was 69. In Canada, Streetheart's hits included "Action," "Hollywood," "Draggin' You Down," "What Kind of Love is This," "One More Time," and covers of the Bert Berns-penned "Here Comes The Night," Small Faces' "Tin Soldier," and perhaps the best-ever cover of "Under My Thumb." Streetheart formed in Winnipeg in 1977 and originally included Paul Dean and Matt Frenette, who left to form Loverboy. Streetheart called it quits in 1983 after releasing six studio albums, plus a "best of, and a double live album. They reformed in 1999 and have been active ever since. A tribute to Shields at Winnipeg Classic RockFest is planned for Aug. 29 at Shaw Park. - Billboard, 7/22/17...... Singer/songwriter Michael Johnson, best known for the hit "Bluer Than Blue," passed away on July 25 after a long illness, according to his website, MJBlue.com. He was 72 years old. Born on Aug. 8, 1944 in Alamosa, Col., Johnson enjoyed a successful string of pop and country hits in the 1970s and 1980s, with his most notable numbers being "Bluer Than Blue," "Give Me Wings," and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder." After recording a pair of albums for indie label Sanskrit, Johnson hit the big time in 1978 with the ballad "Bluer Than Blue." The song would peak at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and top the Adult Contemporary chart. He also hit the Top-40 with the follow-up "Almost Like Being In Love," and 1979's "This Night Won't Last Forever." He recorded five albums for EMI before signing with RCA in Nashville in 1985, giving country music a try. He was an immediate hit in the genre, and his first single was a collaboration with labelmate Sylvia on "I Know You By Heart," which peaked at No. 9 in the winter of 1985-86. He topped the country chart with both "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder" in 1987, with the latter becoming the first major hit for Hugh Prestwood. He continued to release chart singles for the label through 1989, and his final album was 2012's Moonlit Deja Vu, released on Redhouse Records. - Billboard, 7/27/17...... Bobby Taylor, the veteran singer and producer who brought the Jackson 5 to Motown Records in the late Sixties, died on July 22 at a hospital in Hong Kong, where he'd been living for the last several years. He was 83. Although Motown and the Jacksons gave credit for years to superstar singer Diana Ross for discovering the family band that made "I Want You Back" and "ABC," it was Taylor who spotted them at Chicago's Regal Theatre in 1968. The still-unknown Jackson 5 had been opening for Taylor's Vancouvers. Taylor scored minor hits for Motown such as "I Am Your Man" and "Malinda" before encountering the Jackson 5. After the group moved on from Taylor, he put out "Taylor Made Soul" on Motown in 1969, but it sold little and the company didn't release the follow-up. He overcame throat cancer in the Seventies, then worked with various musicians, including Ian Levine on "Cloudy Day." He moved to Beijing for a job roughly 15 years ago, then relocated to Hong Kong, where he sang at friends' nightclubs. His last known recording was the unreleased "Humanity," a tribute to the late rock guitarist Dick Wagner. - 7/23/17...... Barbara Sinatra, the fourth wife of legendary singer Frank Sinatra and a prominent advocate and philanthropist for abused children, died of natural causes at her Rancho Mirage, Calif., home on July 25. She was 90. A former model and Las Vegas showgirl, Mrs. Sinatra was a prominent Palm Springs socialite in her own right before she married Sinatra in 1976. They remained wed until his death in 1998, and together founded the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, for which she was the director. The nonprofit has provided therapy to more than 20,000 young victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse since opening in 1986. Mrs. Sinatra remained active at the center until recently, raising funds and visiting with the children. - Billboard, 7/25/17...... June Foray, the voice behind several classic cartoon characters including Rocky the Flying Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and How the Grinch Stole Christmas' Cindy Lou Who, died of natural causes on July 27. She was 99. Ms. Foray was also the original voice of the school teacher in Frosty the Snowman, before her voice was mysteriously re-dubbed by another actress. - Philly.com, 7/27/17.

Monday, July 17, 2017

As Alice Cooper prepares to release his 27th album, Paranormal, on July 28, the rock legend told the UK's New Musical Express that he "hates politics with a passion" and he has no desire to use it for commentary on the current political climate. "I know people incorporate politics into rock n' roll -- and I think that the antithesis of rock n' roll is politics," Cooper said. "That would be like me singing the Dow Jones report. When my parents would talk about politics I'd go into my room and put The Yardbirds on as loud as I could, because I couldn't care less about it. And now politics and rock n' roll are in bed together." He continued: "I don't know if it's fair for a rock star to tell his fans for who he's voting for. I just don't think that's fair, because he's using his popularity. What he's saying is that his audiences are sheep and they don't have a brain of their own, so I refuse to do that. The only thing I got political in was doing 'Elected' and that was a total satire on Alice Cooper running against Richard Nixon.... But who wants that job? It doesn't pay very well and I wouldn't take the pay cut." In June, Cooper announced that he and his original Alice Cooper Band will kick off a tour of Ireland and the UK on Nov. 8 in Dublin. - New Musical Express, 7/21/17...... Speaking of rock and politics, Randy Newman says he wrote a song about Pres. Donald Trump for his upcoming album, Dark Matter, but it was too "vulgar" to include. Newman says that in addition to a hilarious song called "Putin" -- with lyrics about how Russian dictator Vladimir Putin puts his pants on one leg at a time (and can power a nuclear reactor with the left side of his brain) -- the album almost included a track about Trump. "I did write about him. But the language was too vulgar. It felt too easy," he said. "The song was 'My dick's bigger than your dick/ It ain't braggin' if it's tru / My dick's bigger than your dick/ I can prove it too/ There it is! There's my dick/ Isn't that a wonderful sight?/ Run to the village, to town, to the countryside/ Tell the people what you've seen here tonight.'" But Newman said it just didn't seem like the right call. "I just didn't want to add to the problem of how ugly the conversation we're all having is, so I didn't put it out." But the singer/songwriter says he still has faith in people. "I've found that if you sit next to somebody and start talking they'll be pretty good. I've had no reason to feel differently," he said. Newman has just released the second single from Dark Matter, which hits stores on Aug. 4, called "Sonny Boy," a tribute to Chicago Blues great "Sonny Boy" Williamson. Newman tells a true story of Williamson, tracing his ascent in the Chicago music scene to his untimely end at the age of 34, and becomes "the only bluesman in heaven." He has released the song in a lyric video, a format that works when coupled with his clever and verbose style. - Billboard/Spin.com, 7/20/17...... Veteran producer Quincy Jones took the stand in the Michael Jackson royalties trial on July 20 in Los Angeles, peppering his testimony about his producer agreements with Jackson with colorful bits of music history. Jones, 84, said he considered 800 songs for Jackson's masterpiece Thriller album, noting finding songs is a producer's number one job. "A great song can make the worst artist in the world a star," he said, adding that making music requires extreme love, respect and trust. "I've never in my life done a record for money or fame." Jones, who is suing MJJ Productions, a company controlled by Jackson's estate, says he's owed tens of millions, his share of posthumous profits resulting from the exploitation of songs he produced. Jones told the crowded courtroom he met the King of Pop while working on The Wiz, and went on two produce his first three solo albums, Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. Jones' attorneys argue his written agreements with Jackson clearly state that he's entitled to a share of licensing revenue when the songs he produced are used in films and other projects, while attorneys for MJJ argue the contracts make it clear Jones is only entitled to a share of record sales and anything he was paid beyond that was an act of kindness by Jackson. Jones says that Jackson "absolutely" did right by him creatively, but whether he did financially is open to debate. When asked why he didn't complain about his share of profits while the singer was alive Jones said, "I cared more about him as a human being than about the money." Closing arguments for the trial are expected to begin on July 24. Meanwhile, on July 21 Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced an extension of its worldwide administration pact with Mijac Music, the publishing company that owns all of the songs written by Michael Jackson. Founded by Jackson in 1980, the Mijac catalog also includes iconic songs written by funk icon Sly Stone and legendary soul hitmakers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. Terms of the deal extension were not disclosed. - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 7/21/17...... The Who warmed up for their forthcoming residency in Las Vegas with a pair of performances on NBC's The Tonight Show on July 19. Surviving members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey powered through a rendition of their 1967 classic "I Can See For Miles" and their early '80s number "You Better You Bet" as a web exclusive. Townshend even let rip with one of his trademark windmills. The Who's residency at Caesars Palace runs from July 29 to Aug. 11. - Billboard, 7/20/17...... After members of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church staged a protest outside his concert in Wichita, Kan., on July 19, Paul McCartney posted a meme on Twitter mocking the group, who brought with them signs and placards that said things like "MAN'S JOB: OBEY GOD" and "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS." After the show, Macca tweeted a doctored image of some of the protestors, where someone had changed some of their signs to read "We can work it out," "I wanna be your MAN!" and "All you need is LOVE." "Thanks Westboro Baptist Church for the warm welcome!" read the post's caption. - NME, 7/20/17...... In other Beatles-related news, Ringo Starr turned 77 on July 7, and the famous drummer held a press conference at Capitol Records in L.A. where he held his annual celebrity-packed "Peace and Love"-themed birthday bash. Among other things, Ringo talked about how he almost recorded a country album in Nashville in 2016 with former Eurythmics star Dave Stewart. Starr said he and Stewart tried to knock together a few songs before they arrived in Nashville, but he shelved the idea when he had the opportunity to tour last year. One of the songs, "So Wrong for So Long," is featured on his forthcoming album Give More Love, which arrives on Sept. 15 via uME. Ringo also talked about his tweeting habits. "Twitter, that's the one I do myself," he said. "But I do it at a reasonable hour [laughs]. Sometime in the afternoon, when I've been up for a while. And I love the emojis. It started, like, thanking people for coming to the gig." Ringo added that he'll take his All-Starr Band back out on the road in October, starting with eight dates at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. - Billboard, 7/17/17...... Elsewhere on the Fab Four front, the infamous Mark Chapman-owned copy of John Lennon's Double Fantasy album is once again up for sale. Auctioneers Moments In Time have a firm $1.5 million starting bid for the LP that Lennon signed for Chapman minutes before he was murdered by Chapman in Dec. 1980. The album, which also features an enhanced Chapman fingerprint and NYPD crime evidence designation, first sold for $150,000 in 1998, and has had several other owners since. - 7/19/17..... Fleetwood Mac will be honored as the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year, organizers announced on July 19. The two-time Grammy-winners are being honored "in recognition of their significant creative accomplishments and their longtime support of a number of charitable causes," including MusiCares, which offers health and human services to the music industry. Proceeds from the 28th annual benefit gala, which will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York during two nights before the 60th annual Grammy Awards, will provide support for MusiCares. Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the MusiCares Foundation and the Recording Academy, described Fleetwood Mac as "a legendary and influential group of artists whose music has provided the soundtrack for music lovers around the world." Drummer Mick Fleetwood issued a statement saying that "it's a tremendous honor to be the first band to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year award.... We are very appreciative of this recognition." Meanwhile, Fleetwood Mac capped the Classic West festival at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 16 with a poignant closing set. Opening with "The Chain," the band then performed "You Make Loving Fun" and deeper cuts like "Dreams," "Second Hand News" and "Rhiannon," "Sara" and "Landslide." They closed the set with the rousing "Go Your Own Way" and "Don't Stop." - The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard, 7/19/17...... Judas Priest has released a new mobile game, "Road to Valhalla," via the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The game players to use song stems from Priest's 2016 Battle Cry live album to create new songs to battle characters from Priest's songs and album art to advance through the game until they reach the mythical Valhalla. Priest favorites such as "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," "Breaking The Law," "Electric Eye," "Turbo Lover," "Painkiller" and, of course, "Halls Of Valhalla" are featured as part of the game, which was developed by Babaroga in partnership with the band, Trinifold Management LLC UK and Sony Music Entertainment. "It's like a little microcosm of that world we've created with the characters over these years that come to life in a very good way," frontman Rob Halford says. "The people that made it did a fantastic job, 'cause you don't want people to go, 'Oh, that's cheesy.' Halford adds the band has nearly finished its next album, the follow-up to 2014's Redeemer of Souls, and it's expected to hit stores in the spring of 2018. - Billboard, 7/19/17...... A limited edition picture disc of David Bowie's iconic song "Heroes" is set to be released on Sept. 22 to mark the song's 40th anniversary. "Heroes" is the latest in a long line of Bowie vinyl repressings, following the singer's death in Jan. 2016. Earlier in July, a huge new box-set of his 1977-1982 releases, New Career In a New Town, was unveiled. - NME, 7/19/17...... Kenny Rogers has invited his "Islands in the Stream" duet partner Dolly Parton to take part in his final performance onstage ever, a farewell show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 25. Rogers and Parton have been performing together for more than 30 years since "Islands in the Stream," written by the Bee Gees, became a pop crossover platinum hit in 1983. Rogers, 78, said it's been more than a decade since he performed with Parton for a CMT special. "I think we owe it to her to let her go on with her career, but we owe it to me to do it one more time, and we're going to do that," Rogers said after a July 18 press conference. Other performers for the farewell show are Little Big Town, Flaming Lips, Idina Menzel, Elle King, Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss, with more names to be announced. In Sept. 2015, the Country Music Hall of Fame member announced his intention to retire from performing after one final tour. - AP, 7/18/17...... Eagles frontman Don Henley headlined the annual Oceana Backyard Benefit in L.A. on July 17 at the home of veteran manager Keith Addis, who moonlights as president of the eco-charity Oceana's board of directors. "I haven't done a backyard [concert] in a while. Two nights ago I was at Dodger Stadium. Careers go so fast in Hollywood," joked Henley. Henley performed an array of hits "spanning 42 years," he said from the stage. Others in attendance included Bill Murray, who also performed a selection of show tunes, Anjelica Houston, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson and Sam Waterston. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/18/17...... The favourite song of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been revealed and it is, suitably enough, ABBA's "Dancing Queen." BBC DJ Chris Evans made the claim as he recounted how a friend had been invited to a posh banquet at Windsor Castle. At one point, the DJ reportedly dropped "Dancing Queen" -- with a huge smile spreading across the monarch's face when she heard the track. Evans says she then immediately made her way to the dance floor, before telling guests: "I always try to dance when this song comes on, because I am the Queen, and I like to dance." Quite understandably, guests were taken back by the surreal occasion, with one reportedly remarking: "My goodness me, there is the Dancing Queen." - New Musical Express, 7/21/17...... Beach Boys member Mike Love has released a video of the classic BB tune "Do It Again." The music was recorded live during the band's performance on PBS' A Capitol Fourth on July 4 in Washington, D.C., while the video was filmed during the afternoon in the group's hotel. Featured on the harmony-heavy song are Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, with John Stamos playing drums. Love says he considers the new "Do It Again" "a reincaration" of the original song. "It's been born again," he says. "I couldn't be happier. We just had the greatest time and neatest time together doing this whole thing." Love says that he and the band have known Pres. Donald Trump for decades, and that "he's been nothing but nice to us." 'We have fans and friends of all different political affiliations, so I don't use our stage as a place to deal with all that [political] stuff," Love says. Not that I don't care about things; I'm very much into the environment and against war. But the Beach Boys is about having fun and getting away from all of that for a while, so I don't use it as a pulpit to express my views." - Billboard, 7/18/17...... Actor John Heard, perhaps best known as the dad of Macaulay Culkin's character in the '90s Home Alone films, died on July 22 after undergoing back surgery recently. He was 72. Although his death is still under investigation, no foul play is suspected. Heard began his acting career on the stage in the 1970s before making the leap to the screen, and his breakthrough role came alongside Jeff Bridges in Cutter's Way. His other bigscreen credits include The Trip to Bountiful, Big, The Pelican Brief, Miami Vice and Modern Family, among many others. On TV, Heard earned an Emmy nomination for best guest star in a drama series in 1999 for his role as Detective Vin Makazian on HBO's The Sopranos, and recently, he appeared on WGN's TV drama Outsiders and CBS' MacGyver. Heard was briefly married to Superman actress Margot Kidder and later had a child with Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo. He had two other children with second wife, Sharon Heard. He is survived by children John Matthew, Annika and Max Heard. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/22/17.

The first of the Eagles' "Classic West/East" summer festivals was held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 15, with special guests Bob Seger, Vince Gill and late Eagles member Glenn Frey's son Deacon Frey helping the iconic '70s band through its two-and-a-half-hour set. The Eagles started their show as they had so many times before: standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a beautifully blended a cappella version of "Seven Bridges Road." Guitarist Joe Walsh then announced "We are the Eagles from Los Angeles," as if the band needed an intro, then said: "We're back, and we're back for our family, and you are part of our family. This one's for you, Glenn. You're in our hearts, and the music goes on. Let's give a warm Eagles family welcome to Deacon Frey." Frey and Gill traded off lead vocal duties on several of Glenn's biggest hits, including "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Already Gone," "Lyin' Eyes," "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It to the Limit" and "New Kid in Town." Bob Seger, who met Frey as a backup singer in the 1960s in their native Detroit, surprised the crowd to perform a song he co-wrote with the band, 1979's "Heartache Tonight." "This is for Glenn!" Seger hollered after Henley introduced him as "one of the most beloved figures in American rock and roll music." The 23-song set also included "One of These Nights," "Life in the Fast Lane" and a two-part encore, "Hotel California" and "Desperado." Also performing on day one of the Classic West was Steely Dan, with longtime associate Larry Carlton filling in for guitarist Walter Becker, who fell ill before the show. Day two of the Classic West fest, held the following evening, featured performances by Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire. The Eagles will also headline the Classic East shows, set for July 29-30 at New York's Citi Field. - Billboard, 7/16/17...... The Doobie Brothers member John McFee, who was also once a member of the San Francisco band Clover which is best known as Elvis Costello's band on his 1977 debut album My Aim Is True and for also featuring Huey Lewis and several members of Lewis' future band, has announced he is re-recording songs from both of Clover's late '70s albums with help from his former bandmates as well as Costello. "It's cool for me. It's something I've always wanted to do," the multi-instrumentalist says. "We had done two albums for the Fantasy label that we were never happy with because we were too young to really know how to make records, and Fantasy assigned a producer to work with us who was a brilliant guy and a nice person and fun to work with but had never produced a record before. We felt like we had some good songs, some good ideas, but we weren't happy with the records. So this is a chance to do it again." Meanwhile, the Doobies are currently on tour with Chicago for the summer, and the group has also been in the studio starting work on a new album -- its first since the country-flavored Southbound in 2014. The group has recorded four songs so far -- two written by Tom Johnston, two by Pat Simmons -- with current keyboardist Bill Payne from Little Feat on board. "We're looking to get a new project going and hopefully get it out probably some time early next year," McFee says. "It sounds kinda like the Doobie Brothers; what's cool is from the inside sometimes it's hard to always judge exactly what's going on and everything, but I know that our family and stuff, when they heard it they went, 'Wow, this really sounds like classic Doobies.'" The Doobies also participated in the aforementioned Classic West concert in L.A. on July 15, and will play a Classic East show on July 29 in New York. - Billboard, 7/14/17...... The inaugural Loudwire Music Awards, sponsored by the hard rock/heavy metal website Loudwire.com, will take place on Oct. 24 at the Novo Theater in Los Angeles and pay tribute to Black Sabbath guitarist Toni Iommi. Iommi will be honored with the Courage Award, which recognizes both his musical output and his bravery in his battle with cancer. The guitarist was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011, and is currently in remission. Going forward, the award will be called the Iommi and presented to future generations of courageous artists. Iommi's hand also served as the original mold for the official Hand of Doom trophy that will be presented to all winners and honorees. "Of all the funny things that I've done in my life, this was another one. I was asked if I would do a mold of my hand so that they could make it into an award," says Iommi. "I was very honored." Visitors to the Loudwire.com site will be able to vote for several award categories, including album and song of the year, beginning Aug. 15. - Billboard, 7/13/17...... Poco founding member Rusty Young is preparing the release of his first ever solo album, Waitin' For the Sun, which includes a track called "My Friend" that pays tribute to his Poco bandmates. "That's about the band and 50 years and just talking to the guys that have been in that band," Young says about the track, which features Poco alumni Richie Furay and Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals. "It's just an overview of the whole thing, looking back on this last 50 years -- not just for me, but for all of us. The guys have all done really well... We've been down a long road together, so I want to write about that." Waitin' For The Sun, due out Sept. 15, was produced by longtime Poco bassist Jack Sundrud and recorded in Nashville. Other members of Poco, including Jim Messina and George Grantham, also appear on the set. Young has also announced he'll be touring behind the album, as well as continuing to play Poco shows -- with details of a 50th anniversary Poco celebration to be announced soon. - Billboard, 7/14/17...... A former roadie who used to tour with Queen in the 1980s has revealed to the UK paper The Guardian that there is "other material Queen recorded with Bowie that never got released" and he was there in the studio when it happened. In June, Queen guitarist Brian May hinted that there were leftover tracks from their time in the studio around their 1981 collaboration "Under Pressure," saying "not all of what we did in those sessions has ever come to light, so there's a thought." Now roadie Peter Hince says that "they performed some original songs they did together and also covers... They were just jamming in the studio and it all got recorded -- 'All the Young Dudes', 'All the Way from Memphis' and various rock classics." Hince continued: "There's stuff with Freddie and David singing together -- proper full-length rock'n'roll tracks. Raw, but good." Queen, with Adam Lambert filling in for late frontman Freddie Mercury, will kick off a fall tour of the UK on Nov. 25 in Dublin. Meanwhile, Queen has posted on its official website that a long-in-the-works biopic of the band is "finally happening." Queen's Roger Taylor and Brian May, who are serving as executive music producers, said that Mr. Robot actor Rami Malek, who has been cast as Mercury, "has great presence and he's utterly dedicated to the project.... He's completely living and breathing Freddie already, which is wonderful." Director Bryan Singer will begin pre-production in late July, and principal photography will start in London as soon as mid-September. - New Musical Express/Stereogum.com, 7/14/17...... John Lennon's customized 1964 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, which is currently on display in the province of British Columbia, will return to the U.K. later in July for public display to help celebrate the 50th anniversary re-release of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It will be part of an automotive design exhibition "The Great Eight Phantoms" coordinated by Rolls-Royce and Bonham's auction house, to celebrate the unveiling of Rolls-Royce's latest flagship, the Phantom VIII. It will join stellar examples of the unbroken series of Phantom automobiles dating back to the mid-1920s, the longest running model name in automotive history. Lennon bought the 6,600 lb. luxury car in Dec. 1964, and it was in this vehicle that the Beatles visited Buckingham Palace in 1965 to receive their Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) medals from Queen Elizabeth II. In 1967, the car was given a psychedelic paint job which included colorful bursts and swirls inspired by Romany gypsy caravan designs, as well as the zodiac. Lennon took the car to Buckingham Palace again in 1969, when he publicly returned his MBE to the Queen in protest over the British military's involvement in the civil war in Nigera and support of the American war in Vietnam. Lennon brought the car to the U.S. in 1970 and loaned it out to other stars including Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, but tax issues caused him to donate it to the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design for an exhibition. It was sold at auction in 1985, some years after his death, to the Canadian entrepreneur Jimmy Pattison, for $2.3 million. Pattison ran the chain of Ripley's Believe it or Not museums and displayed it there as the World's Most Expensive Car. He later donated it to the province of British Columbia for display. - Billboard, 7/12/17...... Country music legend Loretta Lynn, who was was hospitalized in May after she suffered a stroke, has announced she is canceling her summer tour and postponing a new album as she recovers from her illness. "My new album, Wouldn't It Be Great, was originally scheduled to come in August this year. I now want to wait to release it next year because this record is so special for me," Lynn said in a statement. "I'm just letting everybody know that Willie [Nelson] ain't dead yet and neither am I, and I can't wait to see all of you on the road!" - Stereogum.com, 7/12/17...... '70s reggae legend Jimmy Cliff has premiered the video for "Life," his latest single. Shot in his native Kingston, Jamaica, the video includes residents of different ages singing, playing dominoes and celebrating "Life" with the ever-youthful Cliff. "Shooting the 'Life' video there was like walking back in time, I grew up in west Kingston and many of the producers from back when I started out were around those areas," Cliff says. "Going back there now, everybody knew me, everybody put their best into the video so there was a lot of excitement and I really felt great shooting the video there," he added. "Life" is taken from Cliff's forthcoming album, which he describes as "socio-political, inspirational or about relationships." "The album actually reminds me of The Harder They Come because these are the kinds of songs you either need to write a movie to or find a movie for," says Zoe K. Espitia of Zojak Worldwide Records. "I have never heard anything like it." - Billboard, 7/12/17...... A rare collection of unreleased Michael Jackson songs are set to be auctioned in a public sale of rock and pop memorabilia starting July 19. Jackson's unreleased songs, which are said to be of "master quality," will be part of the Gotta Have Rock and Roll online sale, which will also include items from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Beyonc, the Rolling Stones and U2. Lot #236 ("Michael Jackson Personally Owned Unreleased Last Album") promises that all the tracks are "master quality" and while the first three songs ("Monster," "Breaking News" and "Stay") have been released before with different mixes on the 2010 posthumous album Michael, the other nine songs are reported to be previously unreleased. According to Rolling Stone, organizers said they expect the final bid to potentially reach $1 million, though the owner will not have rights to the songs and cannot distribute or reproduce them. Other Jackson items in the auction include a stage worn and signed "Smooth Criminal" white fedora, an MJ-worn Trump Plaza baseball hat, one of the singer's teddy bears, his Star Wars sleeping bag, a "Best Daddy in the World" Oscar statuette gifted to MJ from his children, and a pair of the singer's worn colorful boxer shorts. - Rolling Stone, 7/12/17...... Actor Mark Hamill and his fellow late Star Wars cast member Carrie Fisher were named as Disney Legends during a ceremony on July 14 at the company's biannual fan convention, the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif. "I wish Carrie were here," Hamill said as he accepted the award. "She would be making me laugh and be off camera extending her middle finger -- one of her favorite gestures. But, she would also want us to be having a good time and not be sad." Hamill, 65, reprises his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will be released December. Fisher also appears in the film as Skywalker's sister, Leia Organa, a princess-turned-general. Fisher died unexpectedly in December 2016. - AP, 7/15/17...... Martin Landau, the chameleon-like actor who gained fame as the crafty master of disguise in the 1960s TV show Mission: Impossible and later capped his long and versatile career with an Oscar for his poignant portrayal of aging horror movie star Bela Lugosi in 1994's Ed Wood, died on July 15 of unexpected complications during a short stay at UCLA Medical Center. He was 89. Mission: Impossible, which also starred Mr. Landau's wife, Barbara Bain, became an immediate hit upon its debut in 1966. It remained on the air until 1973, but Mr. Landau and Bain left at the end of the show's third season amid a financial dispute with the producers. The pair later starred in the British-made sci-fi series Space: 1999 from 1975 to 1977. Born in New York, Mr. Landau studied drawing at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and worked for a time as a New York Daily News cartoonist before switching careers at age 22. He had dabbled in acting before the switch, making his stage debut in 1951 at a Maine summer theatre in "Detective Story" and off-Broadway in "First Love." On Broadway, Mr. Landau won praise for his work in "Middle of the Night," which starred Edward G. Robinson. He toured with the play until it reached Los Angeles, where he began his film career. His big screen credits also include Cleopatra (1963), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), The Hallelujah Trail (1965), and Nevada Smith (1966). On TV, he appeared in episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Wagon Train, I Spy and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Mr. Landau and Bain had two daughters, Susan and Juliet. They divorced in 1993. - AP, 7/16/17...... Director George Romero, known as the "Father of the Zombie film," died on July 16 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 77. The Pittsburgh-born Romero made the 1968 cult classic Night of the Living Dead for $114,000, thus spawning an unrelenting parade of zombie movies and TV shows. His 1978 sequel Dawn of the Dead was made for $1.5 million and grossed $55 million, and he followed that by writing and directing Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009), a decomposing body of work that earned him the nickname Father of the Zombie Film. Night of the Living Dead, the story of seven strangers trapped in a farmhouse besieged by a lynch-mob posse of staggering zombies, premiered at the Fulton Theater in Pittsburgh on Oct. 1, 1968, and quickly caught on as a staple of midnight screenings around the country. But most of the profits eluded the investors because of a mistake by the distributor. "We lost the copyright on the film because we put it on the title," Romero said. "Our title was Night of the Flesh Eaters; they changed it to Night of the Living Dead." Glimpses of the man himself can be seen in many of his films, and he had a cameo as an FBI agent in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Thanks to Romero, Pittsburgh has been called the "Zombie Capital of the World" and each year hosts an event called Zombie Fest, complete with a brain-eating contest. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/17/17.

Friday, July 7, 2017

Jury selection and opening statements took place on July 11 in Los Angeles in the trial pitting Michael Jackson's company against Jackson's Thriller producer Quincy Jones. Two men and 10 women were chosen to decide how credit and money should be split for posthumous revenue as part of a royalty dispute between the legendary producer and the King of Pop's business. The fight began in 2013 when Jones sued Sony Entertainment and MJJ Productions, a song company controlled by Jackson's estate, claiming master recordings he produced were wrongfully edited and remixed to deprive him of backend profit participation. Jones also contends a 2009 joint venture between MJJ and Sony should have increased his royalties share, but didn't. The works at issue include songs from Off the Wall,Thriller and Bad and the This Is It film and soundtrack album, among others. Jones' attorney Mike McKool said two producer agreements, from 1978 and 1985, specified that Jones' royalty would come from Jackson's share of profits from their works -- and that any changes to the rate the performer received would be reflected in the producer's pay too. MJJ attorney Zia Modabber argued that Jackson wasn't obligated to tell Jones about royalty increases, let alone pass them on to the producer. The trial, which one potential juror who was dismissed described as a "tragedy," is expected to last approximately three weeks. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/11/17...... In other Michael Jackson news, a new one-hour animated adventure featuring the King of Pop's acclaimed music as its soundtrack will air sometime in the fall of 2017 on CBS. The network announced on July 11 that it's teaming up with Jackson's estate for an hour-long telecast called Michael Jackson's Halloween that will follow two millennials named Vincent and Victoria (MacGyver's Lucas Till and The Flash's Kiersey Clemons, respectively) who meet "accidentally" on Halloween night and find themselves at a mysterious hotel located at 777 Jackson Street called This Place Hotel. Other voice roles include Christine Baranski, Alan Cumming, Jim Parsons and Lucy Liu. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/11/17...... Iconoclastic former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters has been receiving a less than enthusiastic reception in some cities in the southern US as he displays unflattering images of US Pres. Donald Trump on his Is This the Life We Really Want? summer tour. On July 8 as the tour arrived in New Orleans -- Waters' first performance in the Crescent City since Pink Floyd played there in 1970 -- the musician was booed as a procession of profane images of Pres. Trump filled massive screens as he performed "Pigs (Three Different Ones)," including a baby with the face of Trump being held aloft by Russian president Vladimir Putin and Trump as a statue with an exceptionally small penis. The parade continued for several minutes, followed by examples of infamous Trump quotes, and even carried over into the next song, "Money." Some fans not only booed, but walked out of the show, which also happened the previous evening when Waters gave fans in Houston, Tex., a dose of his trademark anti-authoritarianism. Waters released Is This the Life We Really Want? via Columbia on June 2, and kicked off his two-hours-plus tour on May 26 in Kansas City. - Spin.com, 7/11/2017...... More details have been revealed on Ringo Starr's forthcoming solo effort Give More Love, which the former Beatle announced on his 77th birthday, July 7. "We're On the Road Again," the album's opener, was co-written by Starr and former Toto member Steve Lukather. It features vocal contributions from Paul McCartney (who also contributes bass), along with Edgar Winter and Joe Walsh, while a recently rediscovered version of "Back Off Boogaloo" features Jeff Lynne. Meanwhile, Ringo held his annual birthday Peace and Love event on July 7 in front of the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles. Friends on hand included Walsh, Winter and filmmaker David Lynch. - Billboard, 7/7/17...... As Debby Boone's record-setting Billboard chart hit "You Light Up My Life" celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2017, the 60-year-old singer and her equally famous dad, 83-year-old '50s pop crooner Pat Boone, will commemorate the occasion by performing a duet version of the song on Aug. 11 at an event dubbed "Icons of Aging." While performing with her dad is rare, Debby says she still sings "You Light Up My Life" regularly. "The lyrics are transcending," she says. "Couples use it as their wedding song, parents say it reminds them of their children and some say it has a religious meaning for them." Although the mellow love song from her first solo album helped her snag a Best New Artist Grammy in 1977 and topped the charts for 10 straight weeks, Boone says she doesn't relate to a lot of music that is racking up Grammy wins nowadays. "Times have changed. Songs that are hits now would never be hits in 1977. I remember driving my kids to school at 8 a.m. and hearing these really sexual lyrics," she says. "But I don't lament the good old days. I'm not a curmudgeon. My kids turned out great. Maybe I'll be horrified all over again when my grandkids listen to those lyrics." Boone and her octogenarian dad, who says he's "as healthy as I was at 20," will be performing in La Mirada, Calif., on Aug. 11 on behalf of the Season of Life Conference series founded by gerontologist Di Patterson. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/7/17...... Mick Jagger has recently been collaborating in the studio with musician Skepta, with the grime hero posting the photo of himself with the Rolling Stones' frontman to Instagram. There was no information as to whether it would be for Sketpa's own new material, a new Stones record, or a completely separate project entirely. - New Musical Express, 7/10/17...... Blondie's summer co-headlining tour with the alternative band Garbage hit the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on July 9, with the iconic New Wave band playing a 13-song, 70-minute set that opened with the hits "One Way or Another" and "Hanging on the Telephone." Frontwoman Debbie Harry, who did those two songs wearing an elaborate bee mask (the tour is themed to their new album Pollinator), also sported a long-tailed robe with block letters instructing "STOP F----ING THE PLANET" and species-checked "our beautiful friends the bees." Blondie encored with the inspirational closer "Dreaming," Harry's paean to finding a path to love and stardom with Blondie guitarist Chris Stein. - Billboard, 7/10/17...... Court documents filed by late Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher on July 8 reveal that Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd will inherit her mother's $18 million estate, which includes her home, personal belongings, and money. The estate of Fisher, who died of sleep apnea after suffering a heart attack on Dec. 27, 2016, is currently up for auction. Lourd, 24, was named as the main benificiary of the estate, which also includes several bank accounts, a 2016 Tesla S automobile, full ownership of several LLCs and a life insurance policy. Lourd, also an actress, will also become the owner of her mother's personal and household items including jewellery, artwork and collectibles, and have full rights over any posthumous royalties from her late mother's books, trademarks and copyrights. Personal items of Fisher's will go under the hammer in September in an auction, which is being organized by Profiles in History in Hollywood. - WENN.com, 7/8/17...... A new 20-track digitally remastered compilation from '70s rocker Suzi Quatro, The Best of Suzi Quatro: Legend, will drop on Sept. 22 via Chrysalis Records. Personally curated by Quatro, the release will feature her four RAK studio albums originally released between 1975 and 1979, Your Momma Won't Like Me, Aggr-Phobia, If You Knew Suzi and Suzi and Other Four Letter Words. "I'm excited about my new compilation," Quatro said in a statement. "It's not just the hits, which I love, but it also features favourite and important tracks from my albums, with an extensive track by track on the liner notes. Enjoy one and all." The collection will also be available on gold-colored double vinyl and digital formats. - Noble PR, 7/12/17...... South African jazz musician Ray Phiri, best known to pop fans for performing on Paul Simon's Graceland tour in 1988, died of cancer on July 12. He was 70. Phiri, a vocalist and guitarist known for his versatility in jazz fusion, indigenous South African rhythms and other styles, received many music awards in his home country. His death was met with nationwide tributes. "He was a musical giant. This is indeed a huge loss for South Africa and the music industry as a whole," President Jacob Zuma said in a statement. Phiri also founded the band Stimela, which released the albums Fire, Passion and Ecstasy and Look, Listen and Decide, and contributed guitar work to Simon's Graceland album. The album evolved from Simon's interest in indigenous South African music. - AP, 7/12/17...... Jay Morgenstern, a longtime music publisher and former ASCAP board vice chairman, passed away of natural causes on July 4. He was 87. Before retiring, Mr. Morgenstern was executive VP/GM of Warner/Chappell Music, as well as CEO of Warner Bros. Publications. He was also a recipient of the Abe Olman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. "Jay was an incredible human being, kind, generous and simply one of the greatest publishers in the music business," ASCAP president Paul Williams said. - Billboard, 7/8/17.

Black Sabbath has announced a new film documenting their final concert at Birmingham's Genting Arena in Feb. 2017 will be screened at 1,500 cinemas across the world on Sept. 28. Entitled The End of The End, the concert film in the band's hometown at Genting Arena will feature live recordings of such Sabbath classics as "War Pigs," "Iron Man" and "Paranoid," along with backstage footage of founding band members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi as the band prepares for its last ever gig. "To bring it all back home after all these years was pretty special," Black Sabbath said in a statement. "It was so hard to say goodbye to the fans, who've been incredibly loyal to us throughout the years. We never dreamed in the early days that we'd be here 49 years later doing our last show on our home turf." Black Sabbath began recording and touring after initially reuniting in 2011, however original drummer Bill Ward did not take part in the return after disputing a section of the band's contract. Tickets for the screening are currently on sale. - New Musical Express, 7/3/17....... The Rolling Stones issued a press release on July 6 announcing a new Stones album accompanied by a new retrospective book will be released later in the year. The Rolling Stones: On Air in the Sixties, a chronicle of the band's radio and TV appearances during their first decade, will be published by Penguin Random House on Sept. 8. Featuring "previously unseen facsimile documents from the BBC and commercial TV and radio archives [and] many stunning unseen images," the book will be accompanied by a "tie-in" album and a new BBC documentary of the same name. The band has not disclosed further details about the album. Meanwhile, the band previously announced it will not be playing in the the UK this fall as part of its 2017 European "No Filter" tour -- blaming a "lack of available venues." In May, the Stones announced that they'd be playing 13 shows in 12 different European cities this autumn, but sporting events have made venues of adequate size unavailable and that they "hope to be here in 2018." - New Musical Express, 7/6/17...... British fans of ABBA will have an unprecedented look at the platinum-selling Swedish quartet when a new immersive exhibition celebrating the iconic pop band opens at Southbank Centre in London in Dec. 2017. Dubbed "ABBA: Super Troupers," the exhibit will provide fans with a chance to see items from the band's private archives for the first time ever in the UK. As well as items from the group's past, the exhibition will also take visitors through individual rooms that each represent a key moment of their history -- including a replica of the Brighton Grand Hotel room where they stayed during their 1974 Eurovision triumph. "Since our songs, which were written in the 70s, are still being played today it's particularly interesting that the Southbank Centre exhibition is placing them in the temporal context in which they were created," says ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus. "We are so excited that the exhibition is taking place at the Southbank Centre, which is just a few short steps away from Waterloo," added ABBA vocalist Frida Lyngstad. Tickets to the exhibit, which will run from Dec. 14 through Apr. 29, 2018, went on sale on July 4. - NME, 7/3/17...... As a court case pitting Eddie Money against his former drummer Glenn Symmonds heads to trial in November, the rocker and former NYPD officer is appealing the recent denial of his motion to dismiss some of the suit's claims, which include wrongful termination, age discrimination, and other allegations. Money had sought to dismiss some of the allegations by filing an "anti-SLAPP" motion, used when defendants believe certain actions are within their First Amendment rights. "Last I checked, this was still America and artists have the right to decide who plays in their faceless back-up band," one of Money's lawyers, Dina LaPolt, says. "To force well-respected, seasoned artists to retain specific support musicians would strike an unacceptable blow to artistic integrity and we will not stand for it. Eddie is fighting for the rights of all musicians to have the freedom to choose how they want to express themselves." Symmonds, who had played with Money on and off over four decades, sued the 68-year-old rocker for wrongful termination in Oct. 2015, and his fiancee joined the suit in 2016, claiming Money sexually harassed her while mocking Symmonds' disabilities on stage. The suit alleges that at a 2013 event, Money dedicated "Think I'm in Love" to Symmonds' wife and while facing her onstage "unzipped his pants, and put his thumb through his zipper (intending his thumb to look like his penis) and began to gyrate his hips and dance while he wiggled his thumb." Symmonds also claims he was subjected to "constant ridicule and harassment" because of disabilities stemming from bladder cancer and a back injury. Money's attorney, Lincoln Bandlow, counters that "everything alleged in this lawsuit is a pack of lies." - Billboard, 7/7/17...... As he celebrates his 77th birthday on July 7, Ringo Starr has announced he'll release a new full-length studio album, Give More Love, on Sept. 15 via uME. Starr has also previewed the title track of the LP, which includes a long-awaited new collaboration from Starr and fellow Fab Four member Paul McCartney on a number of tracks. Other contributors include Peter Frampton, Benmont Tench, Joe Walsh and Edgar Winter, among others. In addition to the new tracks, Give More Love will also include bonus tracks in the form of new renditions of such Ringo classics as "Back Off Boogaloo," "Don't Pass Me By," "Photograph" and "You Can't Fight Lightning." Ringo says the title track is a sincere effort to call on the world to reach out to one another to "Give more love" because "It's what we know we need more of." - Billboard, 7/7/17...... The new deluxe reissue of Prince's classic 1984 set Purple Rain has climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, with 52,000 equivalent album units earned (48,000 in traditional album sales) for the week ending June 29. Purple Rain is the first Prince album to be remastered and reissued, and was released in a variety of formats, including a 20-track deluxe edition with unreleased bonus tracks and a 35-track expanded edition with additional B-sides, rarities and a live DVD of the Purple Rain Tour from 1985. The album also re-entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at No. 3, its highest peak in 32 years. It sat atop that chart for 19 weeks in 1984. In other Prince-related news, drummer John Blackwell Jr., who performed with Prince for over a decade and also played on two of his releases, 2003's instrumental N.E.W.S. album and the Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas DVD, has died after being diagnosed with brain tumors in 2016. He was 43. Prior to meeting Prince, he was a drummer for Patti LaBelle for three years and appeared her 1998 Live! One Night Only album. - Billboard, 7/6/17...... Blondie has announced it will launch a fall U.K. tour behind its latest studio effort Pollinator at the O2 Apollo in Manchester on Nov. 11. The jaunt will also take in live dates in Birmingham (11/13) and Glasgow (11/14), before wrapping up in London on Nov. 16. Pollinator debuted at No. 4 in the U.K. upon its release in early May. Blondie is also offering a special limited edition "Pollinator/Save The Bees" T-shirt on its official website, with proceeds from sales of the shirt going directly to helping raise awareness of the decline in the world's bee population. - New Musical Express, 7/3/17...... A collection of around 1,000 classic books owned by late eclectic rocker Warren Zevon by such authors as W. Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Hunter S. Thompson, Carl Hiaasen and Stephen King are now being catalogued by his dauther and will all gradually be sold online on the online auction site eBay. One just sold for $400 and another one, a Robert Craft biography of Igor Stravinsky, who Zevon met as a teenager, is now up for sale. Zevon, who died in 2003, never graduated from high school but read everything, but his daughter says he "read everything." "He loved classic writers, he loved current writers, he loved hanging out with writers, he loved to talk about books," Ariel Zevon said of her father, who also played with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of published authors including King, Dave Barry and Amy Tan. Stephen King also dedicated one of his books to Zevon after his death. Crystal says she and her daughter decided to sell the books to raise money to support a community retreat house she bought in her village of East Barnet, VT, that has been used as a retreat for activist groups for gardening talks and weekly potlucks. - AP, 7/2/17...... Bob Dylan was among the headliners at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, a 10-day event that runs from June 28 to July 9. Dylan, who performed in Montreal's Centre Bell arena (home of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team), treated fans to selections from his iconic canon, reprising the same tunes that have been in his repertoire for 50 years with roughly the same amount of enthusiasm he's had all along. Among the highlights was "Autumn Leaves," when he was positively crooning as he delivered a reverent rendition of the pop standard. - Billboard, 7/6/2017...... Clint Eastwood and Warner Bros. studios are being sued by Donna Corbello, the widow of Rex Woodard who once assisted The Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito in an autobiography, over the movie version of the Four Seasons play "Jersey Boys." After a decade in court over the Broadway version "Jersey Boys," Corbello convinced a jury in Nov. 2016 that Eastwood, Warner Bros. and surviving members of the Four Season violated her copyright to her late husband's unpublished Four Seasons biography. But then on June 14, U.S. District Court judge Robert Jones bypassed an assessment of damages by coming to the conclusion that that Woodard's biography was fairly used. The judge determined that only a small portion had wound up in the musical and that what was incorporated was significantly transformative. The decision is headed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal for review, but in the meantime, Corbello is now targeting Eastwood's 2014 movie too. Eastwood's film was hardly a hit, earning only about $47 million at the box office domestically after costing $40 million to produce. Nevertheless, Corbello claims she's due damages from the alleged misappropriation of Woodard's work. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/3/17...... Bob Geldof, whose band The Boomtown Rats hit No. 1 in the U.K. in 1979 with "I Don't Like Mondays," has revealed that the band will be releasing its first album in over 30 years. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Geldof said the Boomtown Rats have recorded 26 new tracks and plan to release them in fours in a series of EPs before bringing them all together for an album entitled Mega. "We've done 26 tracks," Geldof says. "We're mixing them now, I've done the vocals on them. We're getting really excited, we think they're great. We did a lot of songs. We have a situation now where a song comes out and a day later it's dead. I'll release four tracks and then a couple of months later another four tracks, and then another four, which allows us to space out the music but also do different things. I've no idea if we'll call each EP something different, but when we collect them and make one album." The band's original line-up split in 1986 but reformed in 2013 and made an appearance at the Isle Of Wight festival that year. Their last LP was 1984's The Long Grass. Geldof, who went on to become a leading philanthropist for world hunger and other causes, recently delivered a speech at the Trinity College Dublin Law Society discussing the state of society post-Brexit, urging students to "stop banging on about transgender toilets" and focus elsewhere. "You guys are inheriting a deeply significant moment. My generation has failed more spectacularly than most -- you have Brexit, Trump, the referendum in Italy, le Pen in France," he said. - New Musical Express, 7/6/17...... Actor Skip Homeier, perhaps best known for portraying the Nazi-like character Melakon in the original Star Trek TV series, passed away on June 25 at the age of 86. Mr. Homeier, a Chicago native, also appeared in scores of Westerns and war films including The Gunfighter (1950), Between Heaven and Hell (1956), Dakota Incident (1956), Comanche Station (1960), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) and Muhammad Ali's The Greatest (1977). He also played the judge who heard the case against Charles Manson in the acclaimed 1976 CBS telefilm Helter Skelter. The lanky actor's TV credits also include the 1970-71 CBS drama The Interns as well as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Millionaire, The Addams Family, The Outer Limits, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Fantasy Island, Vega$ and Quincy M.E. He is survived by his wife Della and his son Michael. - The Hollywood Reporter, 7/3/17.